1.2.12-Columbina
Brick!Club 1.2.12 The Bishop Works Posting before bed, like a person who posts on time~ (Mostly because I know I will need extra time tomorrow to try to get 1.2.13 done in time) OMFG BISHOP NO THAT ISN’T FUNNY THAT’S JUST ANNOYING. OMFG POOR MAGLOIRE LIVING WITH THE BIGGEST DAD JOKER OF ALL TIME. "And, in the first place, was that silver ours?" Madame Magloire was speechless. FAIR ENOUGH. She’s like “Yes. Yes, it was. Do you not understand how the law of property works?” (Cue digression on laws of man / laws of God) POOR MAGLOIRE. She’s just reacting in an actually natural, human way, but she’s surrounded by these infuriating saints. Also, I love how she’s like oh, it’s not for me or Baptistine, I’m just worried about what you’re going to eat with now, and then she’s like no, I don’t want that, that smells, no that tastes weird. Here is our last mention of Baptistine (I assume?) I’M GOING TO MISS YOU. YOU AND MME MAGLOIRE BOTH. She “says nothing”, which is probably the wisest course of action. The silver’s gone, her brother doesn’t care, leave Mme. Magloire be and she’ll get over it in time, there’s nothing she could add that would help the situation one way or the other. Still, I’d love to know what she thought. (You didn’t have time for one last letter, Hugo?) Followed by POOR VALJEAN, I mean, actually super lucky Valjean, but in terms of trying to deal with the Bishop, poor Valjean. He’s so confused. I mean, the idea of going free was probably already going to confuse him, and then the Bishop makes it even worse by making him think he’s having short term memory issues. “Really? Because I could have sworn I stole those plates. I remember the door creaking and everything.” Anyway, let’s talk about the candlesticks. The candlesticks and the ol’ Brick dilemma: “Hugo, I get where you are going with this symbolically but practically it makes no sense.” Valjean has more than enough to start his life over with as it is. (I assume, given that he never needs to sell the candlesticks.) Wouldn’t the Bishop be better off holding on to those so he can buy the soul of the next dirty convict who comes through town? Although, I guess that it took his silver being stolen for him to come to terms with giving it up, so maybe he decided to get rid of all of it so he wouldn’t give in to (what he considers) the temptation to keep it. Commentary Pilferingapples OK, having finally stopped laughing at this commentary… (“I heard the door creak and everything!”, oh no…and the Bishop is TOTALLY A DAD JOKER, that is horribly correct) I still have to boggle that it never occurred to me that The Bishop might be seen as buying his own freedom with the silver exchange here (sorry, Gascon! But I’m only talking about it in the very specific soul-for-silver trade the Bishop makes explicit)— freedom from his last material concern (and from the taste of silver cultery. YUCK. I cannot get over that) and from the guilt of ‘holding out’ on the poor. Besides that possibility, I think the Bishop is definitely mounting a charm offensive on Valjean at this point. He doesn’t want there to be any doubt in Valjean’s head about exactly how welcome to aid he would have been, or how much grace (on human or divine levels) he’s being granted. So he maybe overdoes it A BIT? WE SHALL SEE IT’S SO MYSTERIOUS.